


How we got here

by jam82



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-27 12:49:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10021430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jam82/pseuds/jam82
Summary: A series of drabbles about the domestic life of Niall and Bressie in the same universe as Oatmeal and Compassion.Drabbles are not posted in a chronological order within the 'verse but rather as I get inspired.





	1. A plan is formulated

“It’s like that movie, you know? You get a plant and if you manage to keep it alive, you move on to a dog and then finally a baby.” Thinking over his words he can’t help but frown “or maybe it wasn’t a baby, maybe it was something else, but nevermind that, look at the plants! I managed to keep them alive and happy so the logical next step is getting a dog”

Bressie looked at the plants in confusion “Happy plants? Babies? Where is all of this coming from?”

Chewing on his thumb Niall shrugged “I just thought that maybe, you and I could like, maybe someday adopt or something.”

The expression on the older man’s face softened and he reached out to take Niall’s hand, kissing his abused thumb out of habit. “You’ve thought about having kids? With me? Even with everything” he cleared his throat trying to fight back the emotions “even knowing what you know about me?”

Straddling the other man’s legs, Niall dipped his head for a kiss “I can’t imagine having a kid with anyone else even though I know it’ll be hard and even if you doubt yourself, I know what an amazing dad you’ll be” he couldn’t help smiling “just look what a great dad you’ve been to the plants.”

The comment had had the wanted effect and Bressie couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him. “I guess we need to get a dog then, you know, to make sure the plants weren’t just a fluke.”


	2. Not quite as planned

Deciding to get a dog was the easy part, it seemed, the hard part was finding out what breed to get or even where to get it. When he’d asked around about kennels, his friends had been happy to supply him with information about where they got their dogs, but somehow Niall couldn’t make the commitment to actually check the kennels out.

It wasn’t until one night when they were lying in bed, Niall half asleep snuggled into Bressie’s side while the older man read his book, that Bressie raised the question of visiting a shelter. All thoughts of sleep left Niall’s mind as he sat up in bed looking down at the slightly rumpled man. “You mean like those ones you see on tv? With the neglected dogs? “

Bressie shrugged “they’re good dogs, they just need a loving home”

Resuming his previous position, Niall pondered the option. “We do have a pretty nice home with happy plants” he smiled “and I do love you.”

Turning off the light Bressie pulled him closer for a kiss “I’ll see if there are any shelters nearby tomorrow while you’re in your meeting, it’s about time those happy plants got a dog to keep them happy”.  
Niall fell asleep that night dreaming of puppies running around the garden.

\---

If you’d asked him, Niall would have told you that he is very much a dog person and arriving at the shelter, they were both determined to find a dog that would fit their family. It wasn’t as if there weren’t several dogs that Niall would definitely consider perfect companions, but even after getting some of them out to play, he couldn’t find the one and he was getting a bit frustrated. 

Brez had been roaming the shelter reaching through the bars and petting the animals he came across. He soon found himself in the cat section face to face with what looked like a ball of fluff with ears. Unlike her brothers, the little fluff ball was pressed right up against the bars keeping her from the strange giant on the other side. Bressie reached up a finger to rub between the kitten’s ears, delighting in hearing a strong purr the small gesture provoked. The friendly worker at the shelter let the kitten out of the cage and let Bressie bring it over to the play area.

Having fussed over the dogs one last time, Niall went in search of his other half. When he’d first wandered off, Niall was sure he’d end up with some of the bigger dogs having a run around the outside kennel. To say that he was surprised at finding Bressie lying on the floor of a small play pen with a kitten curled up on his chest would be an understatement, but there was something about seeing the ease and gentleness of the older man, that made Niall stop and watch rather than interrupt the pair. After joining the two on the floor and introducing himself to the kitten, they had an easy decision to make - they might have come to the shelter looking for a dog, but they had been chosen by this little kitten with the loud meow and even louder purr.  
\---  
After planning to get a dog, getting a cat seemed like a much simpler task. How much trouble could one tiny being be? It turned out that it wasn’t a matter of size. Nothing could have prepared the boys for the energy displayed by the kitten or for the fun game of attacking their feet or worse, stepping in a small puddle because someone was too fancy to use the litter box if it hadn’t been scooped. All of that didn’t seem to matter though, when the kitten would come up to them demanding to be petted and in turn showed her trust in them by curling up on a shoulder or in their laps. They had had her for a week when Brez decided that simply calling her “Cat” wouldn’t do. Instead he went online and searched for names. That’s how Niall found both of them when he came back; Bressie on the sofa with his laptop in front of him saying random words at the cat, who only looked back at him with a bored expression.

It wasn’t until Niall repeated the word “boots” that they got a reaction out of the cat and both of them looked at her in disbelief, when she ran up to greet him. Who were they to argue, if she had made her mind up?


	3. Research

It’s not that they’ve ever talked about having kids, but Niall’s always pictured himself with a couple of kids running around in a big garden. Someone he can kick a ball around with or teach how to play the guitar. And he knows Bressie wants kids, has read interviews where kids are mentioned and see the way Bres tends to be a big kid around kids. There’s no doubt in his mind that Bressie deserves to have a flock of children around him and if he’s honest, deep down Niall really wants to be the one Bressie has kids with.

Whenever their friends talk about relationships and the future, they tend to dismiss their relationship because it’s so easy going. Niall usually laughs it off but he can’t help feeling that they’re been looked down upon as not serious. As if people can’t see them having a lasting relationship. And maybe it’s true that they’re both easy going and comfortable with each other, but that doesn’t mean they talk about their future, about their worries and what’s going on in their lives. But there is one thing, they don’t talk about and it’s starting to get to Niall. He’s read the interviews, he knows that being honest and open in a relationship has never been easy for Bressie, that he’s always felt like he had to hold back some of the uglier sides of life because people tended to run away when things got too much for them to handle. When HE got too much to handle. Going from friends to a relationship meant that Niall already knew about the anxiety and the depression. But knowing about it hadn’t prepared Niall for living with someone who still struggles every single day. Being able to talk to Bressie about it, about his own worries and asking questions had made things easier, but as much as they both trusted each other and believed in being honest, Niall sometimes still needed to work things out for himself before he could talk to other people about it. Even Bressie. 

Life in general kept him busy, but travelling meant he spent a lot of time on his own and time spent on his own brought back thoughts about the future. Niall couldn’t deny that thinking about a future with Bressie scared him because as much as their friends liked to joke about it, their relationship wasn’t just an easy breeze. Knowing his mind wouldn’t quiet down Niall got out his notebook and started jotting down the main subjects of his worries; coping with kids and anxiety. A quick search on Google mostly gave him advice on how to handle kids with anxiety and pointed out how parents with anxiety could pass it on to their children. A blog about being a mother and struggling anxiety and depression caught his eye and he figured that being a mum or dad couldn’t be all that different when dealing with anxiety. Even if it didn’t give him any of the answers he needed to calm his worries, it did give him a jumping off point and soon he was reading about mothers worried they were passing on their anxiety and worries for their children and the most common worries for mothers with anxiety. (He had also found and bookmarked a recipe for something called crunch cake) 

Using an anonymous e-mail account he reached out to some of the bloggers explaining that he was considering having children with a person dealing with anxiety and would like to get their partner’s perspective on things. Hoping at least one of his e-mails would result in a connection, he closed his laptop and got comfortable in bed. Before attempting to go back to sleep, he sent off a quick WhatsApp message to Bressie telling him he was thinking about him (he may have included a selfie and a couple of emojis just for emphasis).   
The next morning he woke up to a couple of promising emails and a string of dirty messages from a very drunk Bressie. For all his worries about their future together, the love he had for this ridiculous giant filled him with confidence (and may have inspired a couple of texts and photos in reply).


	4. Smooth and hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earlier today someone on Tumblr mentioned Bressie, Niall and underwear and I ended up sitting through a meeting trying to pay attention and not think about panties and Nessie. I failed and this is the result.
> 
> Warning: This contains (badly written) smut but blink and it'll be over.

The first time he saw a pair of obviously female underwear, he had shrugged it off and put them into the machine with the rest of their laundry. They both had female friends, any number of things could have happened (although to be honest, he’s never had anyone leave their underwear that he wasn’t sleeping with). They hadn’t been living together for very long at that point and had never discussed the laundry situation, so it might very well be that this was normal for Niall. 

Laura had looked at him funnily when he’d handed them over on their next get together and told her he didn’t mind doing her laundry, but she at least owed him the story of how they ended up at the flat. He should have known better at her vague hints of “alcohol and stuff” but figured she was just too embarrassed to tell (even if he thought their little gang was far past the point where anything embarrassed them).

 

The second time he encountered a pair of panties, it wasn’t just one pair. He had been away for the week and was glad to finally be home. He wasn’t surprised that Niall wasn’t home since there’d be mention of writing sessions and meeting up with the boys and he never really expected Niall to wait around for him. Figuring he might as well get started on laundry instead of parking himself in front of the telly like he wants to, he dragged his bag to the laundry room. Their shared laundry basket was already sitting in the laundry room seemingly forgotten before Niall had had the chance to start a load, so the obvious solution was to dump all of it out and start sorting through it and get all of it done in one go. His fingers catching on something smooth and lacy made him stop in has tracks and look at the piece of clothing in his hand; panties. Some digging resulted in more panties in different colours with different textures. Bressie was sure the whole city could hear his heartbeat with how loud it sounded in his ears. He tried to remember how to breath, but all he could focus on was the underwear in his hand. This could only mean one thing - Niall was cheating on him with some girl and he didn’t even care enough to try and hide the evidence. 

The cheerful “you’re home” made him turn around and face Niall and if there had been any doubt in his mind about whether Niall was cheating on him, all that doubt disappeared the second he saw the look of terror on the other man’s face. Mustering strength he didn’t know he had, he pressed the panties into Niall’s chest and walked past him and right out of the door, thankful that he still had his wallet and phone on him. 

The thing they don’t tell you when storming out is that you really need a place to go even if all you can think about is getting away from the situation. Walking around aimlessly, Bressie felt all the energy drain from him and the need to go somewhere warm got more and more intense. His first instinct was to go home, but he couldn’t do that. The thought of facing Niall again made his heart ache with the pain of Niall inviting someone into their home, did they share their bed? Had Niall spent the day with her? Is that why he wasn’t home? The thought that someone else had spent time in his bed with his boy made him double over with the effort of trying to get oxygen back into his lungs. 

Looking up to get his bearings, he quickly headed for the park needing to sit for a bit while he gathered his thoughts. He hadn’t spent long on the bench when he heard his name being called and a relieved looking Eoghan ran up to him. Looking out over the lake, he ignored the quick phone call and the whispered “I’ve got him” that was followed by Eoghan taking the seat next to him. Even as his heart softened at the thought that Niall cared enough to have their friend look for him, his brain told him that Niall had only done it out of guilt, that he didn’t love him anymore. He could feel the warmth of Eoghan’s hand on his shoulder, could feel it ground him and stop his mind shouting at him. He didn’t even have to think twice when Eoghan suggested they go somewhere warm and get a pint, he felt like a drowning man who had just been handed a lifeline.

Three pints deep and something in him started to unfold and suddenly he found himself opening up and telling Eoghan all his thoughts, as jumbled as they were, told him what he had seen, how he knew that Niall was too young to be settling down, that he didn’t want to limit this amazing guy who could do anything and everything he set his mind to. Bressie has rarely been as happy to have a friend who knows when to sit back and just be there, even if he knew how much Eoghan wanted to jump in and say his piece. When closing time came around Eoghan helped him into a car and told him to go home and talk to Niall, something he couldn’t find it in himself to promise. 

 

The third time Bressie encountered a pair of panties he was stumbling through the door drunk and determined to just go sleep it off in the guest bedroom. In the car home he had made a plan to wait until Niall left in the morning and then pack as much as he could fit inside his suitcase and just go. He was sure there were friends who would let him crash for a bit until he found a more permanent place to stay. The view that met him in the living room stopped him dead in his tracks because lying there on the sofa in a Leinster rugby shirt - his Leinster rugby shirt - and seemingly nothing else was the reason for the way his heart still ached even if he had tried to dull all feelings with alcohol.

Unable to help himself he walked up to the sleeping figure and took in his appearance. Reaching out Bressie brushed the young boy’s cheek with the back of his fingers, cursing himself when he saw his eyelids flutter. He blamed his slow reactions on the alcohol when a barely awake Niall reached out and grabbed his wrist, basically trapping him. Now fully awake and standing up Niall looked him square in the eyes and demanded to know how he could just walk out on him like that, on them. Before he even got a chance to react he was being pushed backwards down onto the sofa and soon found himself with a lap full of an angry and, oh, he swallowed with some difficulty, hard boy. The bruising kiss almost felt like an attack but all of Bressie’s defences were down and he let all of the emotions wash over him. 

Running his hands down the sides of the boy straddling his lap he settled them on the younger man’s bum, squeezing the cheeks and feeling the material covering them. Confused he pulled back and looked at the garment that started it all. “These are yours?” He searched Niall’s face questioningly, his disbelief evident from his voice

“Yes and if you can’t deal with it, we can just pretend you never saw anything and I can go back to wearing them when you’re away…” the man before him slowly morphed into the innocent boy he once knew, all nervous energy with nowhere to channel it.

The relief that went through him could barely be contained and forced itself out of his body in the form of laughter and tears. Cupping Niall’s cheeks he pulled him back in for a kiss “I thought you were cheating on me and now you’re telling me you like to wear panties?” That earned him a punch to his chest and a muttered “fucker” that he couldn’t deny deserving.

Using his height to his advantage, Bressie pulled Niall back against his chest and carefully walked them into their bedroom (Bressie once accidentally hit Niall’s knee against the wall and still hadn’t forgiven himself). Once there he laid Niall down on the bed and admired this gorgeous creature he got to call his. Pushing the shirt up to reveal the panties Niall was wearing, he admired the contrast between the pale skin and the colourful panties. Running his fingers along the front he could feel the softness of the material and the warmth of Niall’s hard cock straining at the confinement. Enjoying the feel of the silk, Bressie found himself fascinated with the smoothness and the way the material molded to Niall’s cock. Leaning in he mouthed at the covered shaft, relishing in the sounds his actions provoked. He felt intoxicated by the feel of the material and the smell of Niall, it was like he couldn’t get enough

The combined feeling of the silk against his skin and Bressie’s warm mouth on his cock was almost too much to handle and his cock kept leaking pre-cum wetting the material and drawing Bressie in. He couldn’t tell if the sounds leaving his mouth were even words, all he knew was that he needed more and he needed it now. As if he understood Niall’s thoughts, Bressie slowly and carefully peeled Niall’s panties off swallowing hard at the sight of Niall laid out in front of him wearing only his old rugby shirt and a flush to his skin. As if scared that he would be denied access if he didn’t get a move on, Bressie swooped back down and sucked the head of Niall’s cock into his mouth to distract the boy while he himself clumsily tried to get his jeans off. When he succeeded in kicking his jeans off he felt Niall pull at his shirt trying to get it off over his head. Standing up he quickly discarded his shirt and got the lube out of the bedside table foregoing the condoms. They would usually use condoms for the ease of cleaning up, but something primal inside him needed to mark Niall, to show the world who he belonged to by planting his seed deep inside of him. Crawling up onto the bed he covered Niall’s body with his own kissing him deeply as he rutted against the body of the smaller man, needing to feel Niall’s body against him, around him, consuming him. Taking his time he kept kissing every inch of skin he could reach as his fingers worker to open up the man beneath him, getting him ready for the connection they both yearned for. Sliding into Niall felt like coming home after the emotional turmoil of the day. Sitting back on his hunches Bressie pulled Niall flush against his body needing to feel close. Keeping his thrusts slow and deliberate he attacked Niall’s neck ignoring the faint protests about leaving marks. The pace seemed almost teasingly slow to both of them, Bressie bringing Niall’s hips down to meet his whenever he thrust forward relishing in the whines coming from the younger’s mouth brought on by the feeling of being filled over and over again and the frustration of being kept at the edge as Bressie would switch to shallow thrusts as soon as he felt Niall tensing. Growling in frustration and telling Bressie to start fucking him properly seemed to have done the trick as without warning Niall found himself on his back nearly bent in half as Bressie started thrusting in earnest pounding any lingering protest out of Niall. Losing himself in the feeling of being used like this made Niall almost surprise himself with how quickly he came with just the barest of touches of Bressie’s hand. Feeling Niall’s body contract around him pulled Bressie closer to the edge as he buries himself in Niall’s body over and over again grinding his hips as he comes deep inside of Niall. 

Catching his breath Bressie pressed soft kisses to Niall’s shoulder as he used his shirt to clean both of them up.

Getting comfortable and pulling on Bressie’s arm effectively wrapping himself in the older man, Niall couldn’t help shaking his head and complain that Bressie was enough of an idiot to think he would ever cheat on him. Bressie squeezed him tighter and vowed to himself that he would make it up to Niall any way he could.

 

The fourth time Bressie saw a pair of panties it was a green pair that was sitting in the drawer taunting him. Taking a deep breath and checking to make sure he was alone (he knew Niall was supposed to be away all day but you could never know for sure) he stripped out of his clothes and pulled the underwear up his legs. They were small on him, almost comically so, but looking in the mirror and running his hands over his body he could appreciate why Niall might like the feel of the material against his body. As nice as the material felt, it didn’t compare to the way it felt in combination with Niall’s skin and that right there was the problem - he had come to associate the feel of panties with Niall so no matter the fit, they felt alien on his skin. 

 

The fifth time Bressie saw a pair of panties it wasn’t just a single pair but multiple pairs. He had had some time to kill at the airport and had wandered around the shops looking at the different displays when he spotted a mannequin modelling a set of pale blue underwear. A shop assistant quickly approached him asking if he needed help finding a present for his wife. He won’t deny that he felt almost giddy with the thought of how Niall would react to him coming home with a pair of panties. He couldn’t wait to get home and find out so he asked the shop assistant what options they had in light blue. Getting on the plane that day, he guarded the perfectly wrapped present as if it was the most expensive thing he’d ever owned.


End file.
